Hellwach
by Laura Jeanne
Summary: All the Maidens have become human, but many questions remain: What are the terms of the new Alice Game? Just how human are they really? What's Kirakishou planning- and is she the only potential threat they can't monitor? An anime-based work.
1. Alicespiel

**Chapter 1: Alicespiel**

* * *

Shinku turned to face the mirror.

"Holie."

The spirit twirled up into the air beside her. Suiseiseki was next to step forward.

"Sui Dream." Another point of light appeared.

Kanaria stepped forth. "Pizzicato!"

And all three spirits hovered beside their dolls. The surface of the mirror shimmered, a soft blue glow obscuring the scene they were about to enter.

Shinku poked her head through the barrier of light. Against a black background, Laplace's Demon held a mysteriously glowing object, and an unfamiliar doll looked on.

* * *

Suigintou perched on her windowsill and observed the figure in the bed before her. Beneath the blanket, she observed the rising and falling of a chest until it slowed to a stop. The ring around the girl's finger splintered and cracked; Suigintou closed her eyes and felt it disintegrate.

She had seen this coming, but she still wasn't prepared.

Meimei floated up before Suigintou's eyes.

"It's time, Meimei," Suigintou whispered. "The N-Field..."

* * *

Nori picked up a delicate handkerchief and wiped the dust from Hinaichigo's cheeks. The doll stood quietly in a display stand beside Souseiseki.

Jun was sitting at his desk, carefully putting the finishing stitches on a doll-sized maid costume. Shinku had modeled for him, but she had made it quite clear that she wished to wear only the clothes given to her by Father. So Jun had decided to sell his creations on the Internet. He figured he could actually buy something for once instead of just ordering free trials and sending them back.

Nori lifted Souseiseki's eyelid, revealing a green, mirror-like eye.

* * *

"Laplace," Shinku called out. The rabbit looked across the black void to where Shinku floated.

"What's a spirit living outside of a doll? A soul in a human," Laplace recited.

Shinku just scowled. "In your hands. Those are Rosae Mysticae. We are Rozen Maidens. We must keep custody of our sisters' souls."

The doll beside Laplace smiled.

"I'm a Rozen Maiden."

* * *

Suigintou watched the scene, leaning out of a door into the black abyss.

"A Rozen Maiden?" She focused on the doll's face. "But she has a rose for an eye... Hey!" she shouted. "What's your name, then?"

* * *

From a distance away, Suigintou's voice rang out. Shinku looked up.

The white-clad doll's smile grew. "Kirakishou."

Wings streaming out behind her, Suigintou flew down to face the other dolls. "Can you prove you're really a Rozen Maiden? Because we've met other impostors before, and they seemed quite... similar..."

"I spoke to Father in a dream," Kirakishou said wistfully. "The rules of the Alice Game have changed."

Shinku nodded. "Yes, there is apparently..."

The others turned to face her, curiosity on their faces.

She looked down.

Laplace placed a Rosa Mystica in Suiseiseki's hands.

"Souseiseki," she whispered.

Shinku received the other Rosa Mystica. Suiseiseki pressed hers to her chest, but nothing happened.

* * *

The three dolls headed back towards the door through which they had come.

Suigintou glanced back at Laplace's Demon and Kirakishou, the latter of which was casting a confused glare after the other dolls.

* * *

Silently, Suigintou followed them through the door.

* * *

There was, of course, only one thing on Suigintou's mind, and it had nothing to do with that strange other doll.

Megu. She had only been Suigintou's medium for a short time, but there was no doubt about it—they'd formed a real bond, the kind that Suigintou had never expected to form with a human. And now she was gone. After all these years, she had finally succumbed to her heart condition.

For heaven's sake, she was only sixteen.

* * *

In a dimension not far from Megu's current one, two dolls were sleeping peacefully in a lightless crevasse. One, a pink-clad doll, was smiling and rolled over, tumbling through the air. "Tomoe... Tomoe... Tomoe!"

She bumped into the other one, knocking her hat off. They both awoke to find that clusters of barely-visible pinpoints of light had speckled the edges of the dimension. While it extended infinitely in all directions, it now seemed to be closing in on them, the holes growing larger so gradually it could barely be seen. Where two expanding holes met, a jagged rip in the dimensional walls appeared.

Souseiseki hovered over to the nearest such rip and poked at it. At this point, not even the tip of her doll-sized finger could fit through, but the light spots continued to grow.

A familiar tenor rippled through the air, filling the entire dimension with the soft voice of...

_Father..._

"Alice?"

_Yes, that's definitely Father!_

"Alice, where are you?"

_Certainly not here. We lost._

"Lapislazuli Stern? Kleine Beere?"

_He remembers us... Why?_

"Is Alice one of you? Do you know what it means to be... Alice?"

_No, you're mistaken..._

"Alice, my daughter... Hurry... Show yourself to me..."

Souseiseki could now fit two fingers through the dimensional rip.


	2. Auferstehung

**Chapter 2: Auferstehung**

* * *

Shinku lied quietly in her box, contemplating.

_There is another way to become Alice..._

_There is more than one way to become Alice..._

_There is a new way to become Alice..._

_Yet to be discovered..._

The lid of the box burst open, and she and Holie exited swiftly. The two lifeless dolls, Hinaichigo and Souseiseki, stood in their display stands wearing dreamy expressions. Shinku took Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica, with which she had been trying to sleep, and placed it on the shelf beside the sleeping doll.

Amazingly, it began to rattle, inching slowly toward Hinaichigo.

Shinku watched, mesmerized. The Rosa Mystica approached Hinaichigo and feebly rose into the air. As it neared the center of her chest, Shinku ran toward Suiseiseki's trunk, stumbling over her own high heels.

She rapped urgently on the lid of the trunk.

As if she had been expecting the wake-up call, the other doll immediately opened it and rose, setting her twin's Rosa Mystica down beside her as she lifted herself.

Shinku gestured urgently at the shelf, where Hinaichigo's Rosa Mystica had almost reached its destination. Suiseiseki's mismatched eyes grew wide.

Slower than time, the glowing crystal sank into the doll's chest, and the two dolls watched in silence for several moments. Nothing further happened.

"Well," Suiseiseki commented, "that was anticlimactic, desu."

Shinku frowned. "Souseiseki's Rosa Mystica..."

Suiseiseki cast a sideways glance at Shinku, then plucked the Rosa Mystica out of her case. She approached the shelf and pressed the Rosa Mystica into her twin's chest, where it was immediately absorbed. The long-haired Gardener drew her hand back; the crystal burned furiously as it entered the doll's body.

Shinku retrieved her cane and approached Jun's bedside. She hooked the cane over Jun's wrist and tugged on it sharply. Jun was jolted awake.

"Jun, you are to wind Hinaichigo and Souseiseki."

Jun grumbled, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it? Stupid doll... Why do I have to wind the dolls? They're, ah... they're gone..."

Shinku whacked his wrist with her cane. "Just do it."

"This is ridiculous," Jun protested, but he dragged himself out of bed and fetched the two dolls' boxes from his closet. From Hinaichigo's case, he took the key, and gently removed the heavy doll from her stand.

In the darkness, he misaimed several times before finding Hina's keyhole. He inserted the key and wound it. When the doll jerked once, he stopped, his mouth hanging open.

He set the doll in front of him in a sitting position. Gears and springs creaked within the doll's body, and slowly, her eyes shuddered open.

Hinaichigo looked to her left, then to her right. "Na no..."

Jun continued to stare.

"Jun?" Hina asked. "Where's Tomoe? I..."

Suiseiseki immediately latched on to Jun's arm.

"WIND SOUSEISEKI, DESU! WIND HER! WIND HER! WIND-"

Jun shook Suiseiseki off of his arm and reached for the other Gardener doll. He set her down on the floor, then got up to turn on the lights. The glare of the light hit his eyes; he winced.

Slowly, he picked up the doll's key and pushed it into the hole. He turned it in deliberate rotations. Gradually, the doll's body bent into an angle, and he set her down beside Hina, who was rubbing her head and looking around confusedly.

The instant a tiny sliver of Souseiseki's eyes was visible, Suiseiseki embraced her.

"SOUSEISEKI!" she exclaimed.

Souseiseki seemed to be coming to her senses faster than Hinaichigo, and rubbed her eyes before speaking.

"So, how exactly did this happen?" she wondered aloud.

"SOUSEISEKI!" Suiseiseki repeated, clenching her sister even more tightly. Souseiseki's expression was somewhere between a smile and a grimace.

Shinku regarded the two newly-awakened dolls solemnly.

"So you seem to be back in the Game..." she pondered.

"Indeed," laughed a strangely familiar voice.

Suiseiseki peered over her twin's shoulder. "Kirakishou!"

"Yes..."

Shinku walked swiftly to the door, but as she did, loud, heavy footsteps could be heard fleeing into the mirror room. By the time Shinku reached the room, the portal in the mirror was just rippling out of existence.

Suiseiseki, Souseiseki, and Jun caught up with Shinku a moment later; Hina slowly toddled up behind them.

"What the hell was that?" Jun asked.

There was a long silence before Shinku answered.

"Kirakishou, who claims to be the seventh doll of the Rozen Maiden series."

"Those weren't doll footsteps!" Jun argued. But Shinku had already turned, heading back toward the bedroom.

* * *

Kanaria awoke to a sharp rapping on the lid of her box. Grumpily, she opened it to find Shinku standing there with her cane, the Gardener twins and Hinaichigo standing behind her.

She placed her hand over her mouth. "Souseiseki and Hinaichigo? What are they doing here, kashira?"

"They came back to life, desu!" Suiseiseki exclaimed happily.

"Indeed." Shinku solemnly nodded her head. "I suspect that the start of the new Alice Game requires them to be alive." She gestured at them with her cane. "They are getting another chance."

Kanaria looked down and sighed. "We're really expected to fight again... after everything that happened last time..."

"Perhaps," Shinku suggested, "we won't have to fight. After all, Father said... Father said there is another way to become Alice."

Suiseiseki folded her arms. "I'm not fighting any of you. No matter what, desu."

"Either way... It's my guess that the Alice Game will involve some kind of sacrifice." Souseiseki tilted her head.

"What a stupid game, desu!" Suiseiseki yelled. Kanaria placed a finger over the other doll's mouth.

"Micchan is still asleep, kashira."

"When are we gonna go see Tomoe, na no?" Hinaichigo complained.

"Soon enough," Shinku reassured her. "First, we have to find Suigintou."

* * *

Shinku peered through the screen of the pulse monitor. The black-haired girl was no longer occupying the bed; for now, it was empty.

"Strange... I was sure I felt a trace of Suigintou in this place..."

Giving up, she returned to the Sakurada residence.

* * *

Which is where she found what she was looking for.

When she entered Jun's bedroom, she found him sitting on his bed, wearing a resigned expression. A familiar black-winged doll was dragging her trunk into position beside the other four. When she noticed them standing there, she hurriedly looked down, then released a heavy sigh.

Shinku frowned. "So quick to move in alongside us? I wouldn't expect that..."

"The human there agreed to it, so..." Suigintou continued to look down.

"Jun?" Shinku over at him.

He responded sullenly. "Be nice to her, eh? Her medium, uh..."

"Died," Suigintou said coldly. "I couldn't save her like I wanted to, and I couldn't kill her like she wanted me to. And what does that make me?"

She stared into Shinku's eyes. "That word we both love so much... J... U..."

"Stop," Shinku warned.

"So afraid to say it now? Junk. Junk, junk, junk..." Tears formed in the first Maiden's eyes, and she hurriedly opened her case and sat down in it, giving Shinku a long look. "And we're sisters, right?"

In these few moments, Suigintou had ceased to be the vicious, hostile doll that Shinku had known, and scenes from years past began to play over and over in the fifth doll's head.

The doll without an abdomen.

The feeble doll stumbling awkwardly across the lavishly decorated room, clutching Shinku's hands for support.

Suigintou.

Killed and brought back to life countless times, initially abandoned by Father, struggling her hardest to become Alice and yet never managing to succeed, and now, for the first time, experiencing the loss of a human loved one.

Shinku nodded, and the corners of her doll-sized mouth turned up just a tiny bit. "Always sisters." She wasn't sure if she said this to the doll in front of her, but she was definitely saying it to the doll she had helped learn to walk. And, surely, this was the winged doll closing the lid of her trunk.

* * *

Hinaichigo, standing in the back, was growing impatient.

"Tomoe..."

The little doll gathered up her energy and scampered off toward the mirror room. Shinku grumbled, and then turned to the others.

"Well, you're not all planning to let her run off on her own, are you?"

Souseiseki shrugged. "She seems to have enough energy."

"But... come on, it's Hina." Shinku put her palm to her face. The others exchanged several glances among themselves, then turned to the hallway.


	3. Honig

**Chapter 3: Honig**

* * *

Tomoe Kashiwaba was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and popping a piece of lychee gum.

Her petite frame was clothed in a mint green tank-top, a pair of baggy khakis, and knee-high, cream-colored socks. Right now, she was probably supposed to be in her pajamas and sleeping, but she couldn't close her eyes. She had an odd feeling in her gut.

Sure enough, the surface of the mirror on her vanity began to glow a soft blue, and the faintest hint of golden curls became visible in Tomoe's peripheral vision. She lifted herself slowly from her bed.

When she arrived at the mirror, Hinaichigo was already kneeling on the surface of the vanity, wearing her familiar expression of curiosity and excitement. The curiosity aspect immediately gave way to the excitement as she recognized Tomoe's face.

"TOMOE!" The little doll latched herself around Tomoe's torso. "How long has it been, na no?"

Tomoe placed her arms underneath Hinaichigo to keep her from falling off, and looked up at the ceiling. How long had it been?

"Mm... almost a year now, I think."

She set the doll down on her bed.

* * *

Jun awoke late the next morning, to the smell of cooking breakfast.

He threw on a shirt and pants and shuffled down the stairs to find Nori bustling about in the kitchen, juggling a pan of sizzling ham and eggs and a relentlessly beeping rice cooker. Suiseiseki was standing on the kitchen counter, observing the process intensely. Suigintou sat on the couch and stared blankly at a yogurt commercial.

"Good morning, Jun." Shinku spoke serenely, pouring a cup of tea for herself. Souseiseki followed suit, and then Hinaichigo, who immediately poured honey from a jar directly into her teacup and stirred it vigorously.

"Hina," Tomoe laughed, "that's more honey than tea."

Jun rubbed his eyes. "Whoa, what are you guys doing here?"

"Good morning, Jun-kun!" Nori twirled around happily. "Tomoe-chan and Hina-chan stopped by this morning. I didn't know Hina and Sousei came back! We waited until you woke up, so we could all have breakfast together."

"How did you know I was waking up?" Jun raised an eyebrow.

Nori winked. "A little birdie told me."

Suigintou turned to look at the other dolls. "Shinku," she called, "I think your show is coming on."

"Kun-Kun!" Shinku exclaimed. She cradled the teacup in her hands and walked swiftly over to the television. Souseiseki and Hina followed at decidedly contrasting speeds, while Nori and Suiseiseki carried on a hushed conversation and loomed over the frying eggs.

The Kun-Kun theme song finished just as Nori set out plates of fried eggs, ham, and rice. "Breakfast!" she called out.

Jun, Tomoe, Nori, and Suiseiseki all leaned anxiously over their food, while the other four dolls were all too absorbed in the show to leave the couch.

"I don't understand the appeal," Suigintou commented. "The show's barely started, and it's already obvious who the culprit is."

Shinku glared at her. "How can you say that? I haven't the faintest idea."

"Look at the ferret. It's obviously him, because-"

"Don't ruin it!" Souseiseki warned, not once taking her eyes off of the screen.

* * *

The commercial break rolled around, and Suigintou got up, smoothing down her dress. "I'm going to go for a bit."

She clambered up the stairs and entered the mirror room. The mirror itself was dark, smooth, and inviting. Suigin placed her hand lightly on the surface, and it shimmered, turning a bright white. She stepped through.

The N-Field was empty at the moment. The endless doors were quiet and still. It took some time before she found the monitor screen.

Suigintou peered through the screen. A new patient was lying in Megu's bed already; while he seemed unconscious, two nurses were leaning out of the window and gossiping.

"...so sad."

"Well, she lived a lot longer than anyone expected, so that's good."

"I heard her funeral's next week."

"You know what's been bothering me?"

"What?"

"That ring she used to wear... I looked all over, but I couldn't find it anywhere."

"The little rose ring?"

"Yeah... I hope someone didn't steal it. I mean, stealing from a dying girl, that's horrible."

Suigintou turned back to the N-Field.

* * *

Kirakishou smiled prettily. "Suigintou!"

The doll stared at the figure before her in shock.

A human girl, average in height and slim in figure, floated in the space in front of Suigintou. Her hair, long and white, had an iridescent pink tint to it. In place of her right eye was a single white rose. Tiny vines extended in a one-inch radius from the flower and sank into her skin, rooted in place by thorns. Her other eye was a vivid gold. Her outfit, an elaborate ensemble, was a pink maid's uniform with black stockings and chunky white boots.

"The first doll, if I'm correct." She smiled yet again. "And I've heard about the things you've accomplished."

Suigintou's mouth hung open.

"Who the hell are you?"

"You met me before! I'm Kirakishou!" The girl twirled through the air.

"No!" Suigin shook her head. "You're not a doll!"

Kirakishou pointed at her rose eye.

"But..."

Kirakishou grinned. "It's impossible to explain any other way, Onee-sama. I am Kirakishou, the seventh doll of the Rozen Maiden series." She curtsied. "Lovely to meet you."

"Fine then, Kirakishou," Suigintou uttered. "Then how did you become this way?"

"Oh no, Onee-sama!" Kirakishou put her finger over her mouth. "That's _my_ secret. Unless you promise not to tell anyone else."

Suigintou scowled. "Why shouldn't I tell the others? If this is what Father wants? Also, quit calling me that."

"It does seem a bit strange," Kirakishou laughed, "calling you that when you're smaller than me. Okay, I'll tell you! Come with me!"

She opened a door behind her.

* * *

Suigintou and Kirakishou arrived in a pure white dimension.

"Well!" Kirakishou twirled about. "You like it?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Where's your artificial spirit?" Kirakishou asked.

Suigintou shrugged. "Meimei?"

After a few seconds' wait, the spirit twirled up behind Suigintou.

"Good, then," Kirakishou said. "Now let the spirit enter through your keyhole, and!"

Suigintou cocked her head. "Just like that?"

"Yeah!"

Suigintou shrugged, and motioned at Meimei.

* * *

Kanaria sat on the top of the couch, leaning over Micchan's shoulder.

"What are you looking at, kashira?"

"Cosmode!" Micchan exclaimed. "Best magazine ever..."

"Then why are those people wearing ridiculous costumes, kashira?"

Micchan sighed happily. "They're from anime and manga and stuff... Oh, man, just imagine how you would look in that... Too cute!" She grabbed Kanaria and began rubbing her against her cheek happily.

"FRICTION BURNS!"

* * *

Shinku looked up from the now-ended episode of Detective Kun-Kun. "Well, she was right... Where did Suigintou go? She's been gone for far too long. Hinaichigo, stop eating the honey out of the jar! That's disgusting!"

Hina put down her spoon.

Souseiseki shrugged. "Do you think we should go and look for her?"

"No." Shinku shook her head. "I think she'd rather be alone."

* * *

Suigintou looked up. Long strands of snow-white hair fell down in front of her face, which felt soft and warm at the touch of her slender fingers. Her wings still extended from her back, but they were stationary and would obviously be of no use for flying.

"You certainly turned out nice!" Kirakishou purred, eyeing Suigintou's naked body. The doll's black dress, too small for her human body, had been ripped cleanly in half.

"Goodbye, Kirakishou." Suigin turned to leave the dimension, but there didn't seem to be any door.

Kirakishou shook her head. "I told you, Onee-sama, this has to be our secret."

"Fine." Suigintou rolled her eyes. "I won't tell anyone."

"Do you mean that?" Kirakishou asked.

Suigintou stared back at Kirakishou, who had extended her hand.

"If you do... **swear to me on this rose ring."**


	4. Ausschuss

**Chapter 4: Ausschuss**

* * *

Suigintou's voice rang out from the upstairs.

"...Shinku?"

Shinku looked up from her cold ham and eggs, which she had been poking with chopsticks. "Suigintou?"

"Could you, um, come up here?" Suigin asked anxiously. "Just you."

The fifth doll looked back down at the food.

"Please, Shinku?"

"I'm coming." Shinku shoved herself off onto the floor and ascended the stairs. "Why were you gone so long?"

"Ugh, just get into the mirror room."

Shinku did.

Suigintou was wearing a white button-down and a ruffled white skirt, directly out of Nori's closet. Being a tall, slim, and beautiful human as opposed to a doll, Shinku didn't recognize her at first. But her white hair and red-violet eyes couldn't belong to anyone else. Shinku put her hand over her mouth.

"So this is what..." she uttered.

"This is what WHAT?" Suigintou asked. Tears began to collect in her eyes. "Look at me! I'm... I'm not even a doll! My wings don't even work anymore!"

"What wings?" Shinku asked.

There was a long silence.

Slowly, Suigintou reached up behind herself and felt the area between her shoulder blades. It was perfectly smooth, not even a hint of wings ever having been there.

She screamed.

Despite Shinku's following attempts to cover her mouth, Suigintou's human muscles overpowered the doll's mechanical motions, and her tortured sobbing overpowered her protests for some time.

Eventually, Shinku managed to silence Suigin, then looked around anxiously.

"Be quiet and listen. I believe this is what Father intended for us. He said that... he said that there was more than one way to become Alice, and this must be the next step. What happened? How did you do it?"

Suigintou shook her head. "I... I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"Because..." She clenched her teeth, then held out her hand.

On her ring finger were two rose rings. "Because Kirakishou made me..."

Shinku paused. "She made you...?"

"She made me... make a contract..." Suigin's voice cracked. "And if I tell how we did it, then... she'll drain all my..."

"Why didn't you just fight her?"

"I couldn't!" Suigintou screamed. "I don't know what happened! I can't use any of my powers! My wings... my sword... even the flames... they're all gone! I'm junk! JUNK!" Suigintou pounded the wall with her fist, making the room shake.

"Listen, Suigintou... did you see her use her powers?"

"N... no..."

"Then maybe she doesn't have her powers either. Maybe that's a part of this whole thing." Shinku crossed her arms and looked down. "I don't know what Father's planning, but I'm sure that, if we are all supposed to become human, we will find the way on our own."

* * *

Nori took the saran wrap off of the freshly-nuked food and presented it to Suigintou with a sunny smile. "Breakfast for Suigintou-chan."

Suigintou muttered a thank-you and picked up the chopsticks.

"So... I guess you're hungry, now that you have a big human stomach!"

"No. I don't feel anything of the sort, actually."

"Oh..."

Suiseiseki was waving her arms frantically in front of Jun's face, trying to get him to stop staring at Suigintou. "Perverted chibi-human!"

Jun groaned. "I'm not looking at her that way!"

Maybe he was, a little bit. But that was only because he hadn't yet gotten used to the experience of seeing what appeared to be an albino European supermodel sitting at his kitchen table, wearing his sister's clothes.

"Hey, Suigin," Nori remarked, "we should take you shopping! I know a little store downtown where they have beautiful... I think Gothic Lolita clothes. Wouldn't that suit you?"

Suigintou scowled. "As much as I'd like to wear something other than your frills and lace, there's still the small matter of this." She reached into the pocket of her skirt and fished out her doll-sized hairpiece and black dress, the latter of which was torn beyond repair.

Suiseiseki gasped. "Your dress!"

"Yeah, well, add that to my list of problems." Suigintou took a small bite of egg.

* * *

Kanaria came sailing in through the window.

"Did I smell tamagoyaki, kashira?"

"Not tamagoyaki," Nori corrected, scratching her head. "Just regular eggs. You're welcome to join us, Kana-chan... Hey? Kana-chan?"

Kana was staring at Suigintou, who looked up from her breakfast.

"Hey, is that Suigintou, kashira?" Kanaria asked quietly.

"Yes, you see, Suigintou had an encounter with-"

"How did that happen, kashira?! What magic did she use?!"

Shinku approached Kanaria and spent a considerably long moment whispering in her ear, after which Kana nodded.

"Well, that's too bad that you can't use your powers, kashira! It's a good thing that I, Kanaria, the most intelligent of the Rozen Maidens, am here to protect you!" She held out her hand as if to summon her violin.

After several seconds of grimacing and grunting, Kanaria looked down at her hand.

"What...?"

Shinku raised an eyebrow. "It appears that..." She held out her own hand, making the usual motions that she did when summoning her petals, but nothing happened.

"Why the hell aren't your powers working?" Jun cocked his head.

"Well," Shinku offered, "perhaps we are finding out the next part of Father's plan for us."

"What kind of stupid plan is that?"

She shrugged. "For now, all we can do is work towards becoming human."

* * *

At this point, Tomoe and Hinaichigo came in via the main door.

"Sorry," Tomoe said, "I just left my coat... Hey..." She pointed at Suigintou, only being able to see the back of her white-haired head. Suigintou turned around and looked at Tomoe.

"Hey."

"Oh, um... hello..."

Nori smiled. "Tomoe! Interesting things happened while you were out!"

"I see..."

Hinaichigo ran up to where Suigintou was sitting and latched on to her leg. "Suigintou!" she exclaimed. "You're so soft- na no!"

Suigintou shook her leg half-heartedly.

"I like your new clothes, na no!"

"Thanks."

"You took them from Nori, na no!"

"Better Nori than Jun."

"I want to see you wearing Jun's clothes, na no!"

"Not likely to happen."

Tomoe took her jacket from where it was hanging on the back of one of the chairs, and put it on over her shirt. "Well, that's all, really."

Hinaichigo looked disappointed. "We're leaving already?"

"You can stay if you want!" Nori interjected. "Suiseiseki and I are going to bake today!"

Tomoe shook her head. "I have to put some things together for my duties as class representative. Sorry."

Hinaichigo whined, but obediently followed Tomoe out the door.

* * *

That night, Jun's sewing was interrupted by the smell of cinnamon wafting upstairs from the kitchen. He slowly got up and peered down the stairwell, then shuffled down the stairs. Nori was placing a tray of freshly-baked buns on a cooling rack as Suiseiseki poured a thick white glaze over another tray.

"Cinnamon buns?" Jun asked.

Nori nodded quickly. "They came out really good! They should be cool in thirty minutes. We made a special one for you!" She gestured at a one at the center of the tray, which was larger than the rest.

Suiseiseki jumped in. "That one's for Suigintou, desu! Since she just became a human, desu. Not for Jun!"

Nori frowned. "But you said-"

"I said nothing, desu!"

"Ehehe."

Jun went back upstairs.

* * *

Just as Nori called for the others to come downstairs and have their cinnamon buns, Jun finished what he had been working on. He held it up in the light to make sure it was perfect, and then went into the next room.

The light was on, and Suigintou was staring at herself in the large mirror, holding her hand up in front of her face. Although it was hard to tell from where Jun was standing, she appeared to have the first glimmers of tears in her eyes.

He coughed. "Hey, Suigintou."

She looked around sharply. "Yes?"

"Well, it's just. I figured you might want something like this, since I know you were really attached to your clothes and everything."

Jun held out an elegant wristband, about three-and-a-half inches wide, made from the black velvet and ornate trim from Suigintou's dress. The crosses that once adorned the skirt of the dress were now arranged side-by-side along the band.

She regarded it for a long moment, then motioned for him to come closer.

"Thanks." She took it from his hand and slipped it onto her left wrist.


	5. Atem

**Chapter 5: Atem**

It happened far sooner than Shinku had expected.

She was lying in the dark of her box, which sat beside those of Suiseiseki and Souseiseki. Suigintou's box was propped up in the corner; Suigin herself was asleep on the couch downstairs, wearing one of Nori's nightgowns. For whatever reason, Shinku couldn't sleep.

She opened the lid of her box just a crack, and peered out. The first rays of morning were shining through the window, but it wasn't time to wake up. Everything seemed normal, so she closed the box again and stared into the blackness.

Holie's red light flickered behind her, and she soon fell asleep.

_Holie..._

_Where are you going?_

_I can't see you..._

_My key..._

* * *

Jun was sitting at the kitchen table, eating a piece of bread with jam and conversing with the twin dolls.

"Suigintou's finally discovered the joy of sleeping late," he commented, observing the doll-turned-human draped over both ends of the couch. She was certainly tall.

"Would you quit staring at her like that, desu?!"

"I'm not staring! Sheesh."

"You are staring, desu!"

"Whatever."

Souseiseki looked down. "Shinku is also sleeping late, it seems."

"...Hey, you're right," Jun said. "That's not like her."

* * *

Shinku awoke from her vivid dream with a gasp of pain. Her clothes pressed tightly against her body and then tore; the wooden box strained and the hinge broke, separating the top half from the bottom. She was left kneeling over the box as the edges dug uncomfortably into her bare legs and hands.

She heard loud footsteps jogging up the stairs; as the door began to open, she hid herself behind the edge of the shelves and draped her long hair over her body like a curtain.

"Don't come in h-" It was pointless. Jun had already opened the door and was frozen in place, staring at Shinku.

"GET OUT OF HERE DA WA!"

Jun obliged.

Shinku sighed sharply, then looked around the room for a moment. She went toward the closet, yanked a large T-shirt and a pair of khakis out, and went about putting them on. It felt odd and improper to be wearing a boy's clothes, but at least she knew him.

She opened the door just a crack, then pushed it open all at once. Unfortunately, Jun had been standing behind the door, but she said nothing as it hit him in the face.

Jun rubbed his eyes. Sure enough, standing before him was yet another unnaturally beautiful European girl, her long golden locks reaching all the way down to her toes and her vibrant blue eyes staring him angrily in the face.

Oh, and she was wearing his clothes. That was kinda a turn-on.

It took him a second to remember that it was Shinku, given the fact that she wasn't wearing her signature red outfit and her pigtails had come out, not to mention how she was almost as tall as he was and looked to be only a year or so older than him.

Before he could speak, Shinku cut him off. "You can have your clothes back in a second, da wa. I'm going to go change." She sped off toward Nori's room, leaving Jun in a daze.

* * *

Suiseiseki and Souseiseki ascended the staircase.

"What's going on, desu?"

Jun didn't move his stare from Nori's bedroom door. "Shinku..."

There was no time for Suiseiseki to ask any further questions before Shinku thrust the door open. She emerged in a light, summery green dress Jun had seen Nori wearing before on several occasions, and Jun's clothes were folded over her arm. He had a hard time deciding whether he preferred those or the dress.

Suiseiseki gasped; Souseiseki smiled.

"Wait, desu! So you became human too, desu?!"

Shinku nodded so subtly that it was almost invisible. "Apparently."

"How?!"

"I will explain." She moved toward Jun and the dolls, tossed Jun's clothes at him, and then turned to descend the stairs. They followed.

* * *

Suigintou was still asleep. Jun's side-by-side comparison of Suigintou and Shinku showed that Shinku was shorter but was better-endowed; Suigintou's figure said "model," while Shinku's said "porn star."

Except, of course, for Shinku's appearance of being no older than fifteen, which made it a bit creepier. Jun decided to remove those thoughts from his head.

"Now," Shinku began, "it happened while I was asleep.

"The dream I had did not take place in my dream world. It was a blank white space, so blindingly white that it hurt the eyes, and all I saw was Holie. I tried to communicate with Holie. But nothing happened. And then... then Holie went on the other side of me. So then I tried to turn around and see what was going on. I felt Holie enter my body, through my keyhole.

"And then... then I woke up." She took a deep breath. "And I was like this."

Souseiseki nodded. "So it's the artificial spirit... We haven't seen Meimei, either."

"Yes. Holie was gone when I woke up. Still, I... I feel Holie's presence inside me."

"Well, if this is what we're supposed to do, we should go about doing it."

* * *

Suigin's eyes fluttered open. She could hear a hushed conversation going on behind her, but she was too disoriented to discern what was being discussed.

For several moments, she even forgot that she was human, but her long legs draped over the arm of the couch quickly reminded her. She groaned and sat up, peering over the back of the couch.

Jun, the twin dolls, and some unknown blonde girl were sitting around the table. At first, she assumed it was Nori. But between the fact that it was late enough now that Nori had left for school; the fact that the girl's hair was too light and too long, her eyes too shockingly blue, and her face too foreign; and the fact that Shinku was absent...

It was clear that Shinku was not, in fact, absent. The girl at the kitchen table was Shinku.

"Shinku!" Suigintou exclaimed. Shinku looked over from where she sat at the kitchen table, and flashed a quick smile at Suigintou.

"Good morning, Suigintou."

Suigin took several quick strides and reached the table, and peered at Shinku. "You... how did you find out? I wasn't mumbling in my sleep, was I?"

"No. Rest assured. I found it out on my own. Well..." She paused. "It came to me on its own, that is."

"Are you sure?" Suigintou still looked worried.

"Of course I am sure. Sit down."

As Suigin obliged, Suiseiseki continually looked back and forth between the two human Maidens. Jun wondered for a moment if she was running the same comparison as he had, before he remembered the whole "they're sisters" thing.

"So it has been established that the transformation occurs when the artificial spirit enters through the doll's keyhole and merges with her. I say," Shinku declared, "that we should definitely notify Kanaria and Hinaichigo of this at once."

"Wouldn't it be better to transform now, desu?" Suiseiseki protested. "I mean... well, I don't think you'd be able to feel this, but now that I know how it can be done, my body is calling out for it to happen..."

Souseiseki nodded. "There is a certain instinctive urge. However. I do feel it would be better to tell the others first."

"I'm changing." Suigintou got up, adjusting the thin spaghetti strap on her borrowed nightgown. "We really ought to go out and get those clothes, like Nori suggested..." She turned and headed for the staircase.

"Hey, Suigintou," Shinku called out.

"What?" Suigin stopped in her tracks.

She smiled. "I don't think you've changed as much as you think you have."

"...Eh?"

"Jun? Do you have an instant camera?"

"I have a _digital_ camera..."

"Good enough. Bring it here."

Jun grumbled and marched upstairs. After a few extended moments of silence, he returned, clutching a small, silvery device.

Shinku took it from him. She aimed it toward Suigintou, then pushed the button. With a click and a flash, an image of the supernatural beauty was preserved; she was looking over her shoulder, wearing a candid yet photogenic expression.

"Now, come here, Suigintou."

Suigintou peered at the tiny screen of the digital camera. Shinku pressed a green button, and the image of Suigintou reappeared on the screen.

Across her back, partially obscured by her pearl-white hair, was a sweeping and intricately detailed tattoo of a pair of black wings. As Shinku zoomed in on the photograph, the individual fronds of feathers were visible.

* * *

The winged Maiden came back downstairs, clad in a black, pleated skirt and a dark blue halter top that fully exposed her back. Her hair was gathered in a loose ponytail with a black elastic, and draped over her left shoulder. She seemed significantly happier than before, even lifting her hand and waving. The ribbon attached to her wristband drifted through the air.

Shinku pointed at the band. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, this?" Suigintou regarded it for a moment, then pointed at Jun. "He did it."

Jun looked over. "Hey, that's right. Shinku, did your dress rip? I can-"

"Please do." Shinku smiled sunnily.

Jun was thinking he could get used to this.


	6. Menschheit

**Chapter 6: Menschheit**

* * *

Nori had purchased two cakes for the occasion: a chocolate cake decorated with cherries and almonds, and a white cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Tomoe was having trouble keeping Hinaichigo off of the latter.

Shinku was finishing up her explanation. "Just through the keyhole. I don't think it should take very long."

As she stood in front of the closet door, Micchan sat with Kanaria on her lap, her arms folded around the doll; Suiseiseki and Souseiseki sat side-by-side, engaging in a whispered conversation; Suigintou reclined on the couch; Tomoe held on Hinaichigo's arm so as to prevent her from reaching the strawberry cake, and Nori and Jun sat on the table. Together, they all formed a semicircle facing the closet.

"So," Shinku concluded, "now we just have to decide who goes first."

Kanaria immediately volunteered. "As the most intelligent Rozen Maiden, I should be the first- kashira!"

"Wait just a little longer!" Micchan protested. "If you're never going to be a doll again, I... I at least want a few last moments with you..."

"...Fine," Kanaria grumbled.

"I'LL GO FIRST! ME FIRST, NA NO!"

Shinku shrugged. "Go ahead."

Hinaichigo ran toward the closet door, leaving Tomoe gazing after her.

* * *

Yamamoto, once again foiled in his plans to confess his love for Nori Sakurada due to a randomly cancelled train ride, was getting hungry. He decided to kill some time by stopping in at a nearby convenience store.

He emerged with a can of juice and was stopped on the street by a peculiar-looking girl. She had European features, milky white skin, and a slim body; her locks were a cotton-candy pink in the sun and they spilled over her petite shoulders, obscuring part of her frilly maid uniform. Of course, Yamamoto wasn't interested in any of that. He couldn't stop staring at her right eye- or was it her left? No, it was his left. Either way, it was a cloudy white, contrasting sharply with her amber-colored right eye.

"Would you like to stop it at our maid café-? We have a full staff of beautiful and happy maids, waiting to serve you-!"

"...No thanks." He sipped his juice and walked away.

* * *

"Berrybell!"

Utter silence.

"...uuuuuu... Whoa! Ow! Na no..."

There was an extended rustling of fabric, while Micchan gripped Kanaria's little wrists excitedly. Nori put her hands over her heart.

A young girl emerged from the closet, clad in a lavender turtleneck that was actually large enough to serve as a sort of shirt-dress on her. She pulled at one of her golden ringlets; it instantly bounced back into place. Noticing this, she giggled.

"...Not what I was expecting," Jun commented.

"What were you expecting?" Tomoe asked.

"I dunno. Something... smaller. I mean, she only acts about five."

Hina pouted. "I am not five, na no!"

"Yeah, more like ten."

Micchan had released her steel grip on Kanaria in order to coo and giggle over Hinaichigo. Kana seized the opportunity and leapt out of Micchan's lap.

"Kana! Kana-chan! WAIIIIIT!"

But it was too late. Kanaria had already entered the closet, and the lock could be heard closing.

Nori laughed awkwardly. "Why does our closet lock?"

* * *

At Hakuo Junior High School, the student body was abuzz with gossip and rumors.

"Have you seen the new girl?"

"I think she's an exchange student."

"But she speaks such perfect Japanese!"

"But she doesn't look Japanese at all!"

"I wonder what happened to her eye?"

"She's so pretty. I wish I looked like her..."

"Why does she dye her hair?"

"All the boys want to go out with her."

"She would never go out with any of them..."

* * *

Kanaria, wearing the most elaborate, ruffly ensemble Nori owned, sat next to Micchan and stroked the velvety texture of her former doll-dress. Micchan herself undeniably was about to get a nosebleed from staring at the spot where the low-cut shirt showed off Kanaria's surprisingly abundant cleavage.

She was going to miss holding Kana in her arms and dressing her up in tiny outfits, but Mitsu Kusabue had a greater scheme in mind. No, not that. Okay, maybe she was thinking about that, but she didn't plan to act on it.

Souseiseki shoved herself down from where she was sitting and made toward the door.

"Wait, desu!" Suiseiseki cried out.

Sousei turned around. "Yes?"

"L... let's go together, desu!"

"We're the only ones left." Souseiseki shrugged.

Suiseiseki walked slowly up to her twin, then followed her toward the closet door, one hand on her shoulder. When Sousei entered the closet, Suisei waited at the door for a moment.

She scanned the room one last time with her glassy doll-eyes. The other Maidens who had already become human, then all their former mediums and Nori, and then, lastly, a lingering look at Jun.

He nodded at her and she scampered into the room.

It was deathly quiet for several moments. Only the faintest sound of folding cloth as the remaining two dolls undressed could be heard. And then, the strange cosmic sound of the artificial spirits.

The silence was broken by Suiseiseki's scream, followed by what sounded like an avalance of heavy items toppling over.

"Ow... desu..."

"Don't worry, Suiseiseki, just put on some clothes."

Souseiseki opened the door just enough to slip out of it, and emerged wearing a knee-length skirt and a baggy sweater. For a brief moment, she seemed to flash Nori a pleading look.

Nori scratched her head. "Er, I'll see if I have some pants, Sou-chan..."

"More like Sou-kun, kashira!" Kanaria commented. No one seemed to notice.

While Souseiseki and Nori went upstairs, a red eye peeked out from behind the doorframe. A length of rich brown hair extended to the floor beside it.

Time stood still. Suiseiseki slowly pushed open the door, gingerly placing her toes outside, then moving forward just a bit, until she was visible in full. Unlike her twin, she had chosen a green spaghetti-strap top and a miniskirt that more fully defined her perfect figure. Her eyes seemed watery.

She coughed. "Ehm... desu..."

Micchan clasped her hands together in delight, Tomoe smiled, and Jun was utterly fixated.

* * *

"She almost never talks to anyone, you know?"

"She always leaves right after school's over..."

* * *

Shinku sat sipping her tea, occasionally taking a miniscule bite of the ridiculously thin slice of chocolate cake in front of her. Hina was on her third piece of white cake and had already asked Suiseiseki, Nori, Tomoe, and Kanaria for their strawberries. Suigintou sat there staring at her chocolate slice as if waiting for it to make a move.

"Hey, Nori," she asked.

Nori wiped whipped cream from her lip. "Yeah?"

Suigintou sighed, then plucked an almond from her cake and rolled it between her fingers.

"You own anything black?"

* * *

Micchan and Kanaria stood at the door, waving.

"Thank you so much!"

"Bye-bye, kashira..."

As they exited, Micchan put her arm around Kanaria's tiny waist. "Do I have a surprise for you, Kana-chan..."

"I don't know if I want to hear about it, kashira!"

Tomoe excused herself. "We'd better get going, too. Ready, Hina?"

Hina frowned. Apparently, her stomach had the capacity for more than six pieces of cake, and she was still holding a fork over the seventh.

"I can wrap up the last of the cake for you." Nori smiled graciously, while Hina grinned, flecks of cake and strawberry between her teeth.

Tomoe took the last quarter of the cake and carried it in one hand. Hinaichigo grasped the other tightly. "What are we going to play, na no?"

At this point, Jun came jogging down the stairs, holding a frilly pink wristband. He thrust it out at Hina.

"Just 'cause you can't wear your clothes anymore." He pointed. "See? It's your dress."

Several seconds later, he regretted this. Hina had latched onto his leg.

"Did Mitsu and Kanaria leave?"

"Just now, na no-!"

"Eh. I'll give them theirs tomorrow. Get offa my leg."

Hinaichigo obliged.

* * *

"I can't imagine that someone so perfect could exist."

"It's like she's a doll come to life or something."


	7. Begräbnis

**Chapter 7: Begräbnis**

* * *

"You look soooooooooo cute, Kana-!"

Micchan admired the latest costume she had inflicted upon Kanaria. She had wondered whether it would be better or worse if Kanaria became a human, but now she saw that shoving her ward into revealing outfits was a lot more fun now that there were breasts involved.

"What is this costume, kashira?"

"It's Wikipe-tan! Don't you like it?"

"Well-"

"I knew you would! Do you know why I bought this?"

"Because you're a-"

"Becauuuuuse..." Micchan held out a colorful, glossy issue of Cosmode. "CosCon is tomorrow!"

* * *

Shinku was delighted with her wristband, and Jun had just finished Suiseiseki's before he went to sleep. He had seen that Suiseiseki was already sprawled sleeping across Nori's bedroom floor and had decided that he would give it to her first thing in the morning. When he woke up thirsty in the middle of the night and noticed Suiseiseki in his bedroom, he was considerably surprised.

Unfortunately, he yelped before he could consider the pros and cons of yelping, and Suiseiseki jumped like a startled cat. She looked at her wrist, then looked at Jun, and then stepped back several feet.

"What are you doing in here?"

"Nothing, desu!"

"You were just looking at your wristband, right?"

"N-no... I mean... yes..."

Jun grumbled. "I finished it a few minutes before you went to sleep. Would it kill you to stay up a little longer?"

"Yes, desu."

"Sheesh, be quiet. In case you hadn't noticed, Shinku took over my bed-" he gestured toward the curvaceous figure under what used to be his blanket- "and is currently SLEEPING in this room. Do you want to wake her up?"

Suiseiseki scowled. "Here, chibi-human." She took off the wristband and thrust it back at him.

"Have I pointed out how ridiculous it is that you still call me that even though you're a human now, too?"

"Just take it, desu!"

Jun shook his head. "I don't want it. I made it for you, so you could at least take it. Burn it if you don't want it."

"Hmph." She put it back on her wrist and smoothed it out with her finger.

This was followed by a long and painful silence.

* * *

"Hey, Jun?"

"Are you going to go back to sleep now, or what?"

"Shut up, desu!"

"Fine. What."

"Well... have you noticed something about Suigintou?"

"Not really, why?"

"She doesn't seem happy, desu." Suiseiseki looked contemplative. "Well, she NEVER seems happy, but especially now."

"Did you miss the thing about her medium dying?"

"Why would she care about that, desu? Well... I mean, it's not like HER to care."

Jun shrugged. "Maybe her medium made a special connection with her."

This seemed to strike a note with Suiseiseki. "Yeah... maybe."

She crossed her arms and looked down, then got up from where she and Jun had been sitting. "Bye."

"See you tomorrow." At 1:34 A.M., Jun went to sleep.

* * *

Shinku was dreaming.

_Alice... no!_

A rose vine twirled around her arm, up her neck, and then over her face.

_You deserve this, you murderer._

She woke up, blinked a few times, and then fell back into a deeper kind of sleep, without dreams.

* * *

Tomoe waved goodbye to Hinaichigo. "I'll see you after school!"

"Bye-bye, Tomoe!" The good news was that Hina had made significant strides in resolving her abandonment issues. She smiled cheerily, then turned to look at the vanity mirror. Something exciting was always happening at the Sakurada household.

Suigintou looked stunning. A black minidress with the back cut out, tall black boots, long black gauntlets, and, of course, her wristband. Her long hair was done up in a bun pierced with two black chopsticks and tied with a black gauze ribbon.

"I'm going now. I'll be back at two."

"Bye, na no!" Despite the inherent danger involved in traveling via the N-Field as of late, Hinaichigo had arrived unscathed and was currently drinking a glass of some concoction that was equal parts milk and honey.

* * *

Closing the door behind her, Suigintou took a deep breath of the fresh outside air. She took long, slow strides down the walkway to the sidewalk, then took a sharp right and headed toward the church. She wondered if she'd be able to enter that place.

* * *

Micchan arrived at the convention, Kanaria in tow. Already the busty mascot was turning plenty of heads in the crowd.

"Why does there need to be a convention for cosplay, kashira? Isn't there enough cosplaying at other conventions, kashira?"

"There is never enough cosplaying! Anywhere!"

* * *

Shinku, Hinaichigo, and Souseiseki had settled down to a Kun-Kun episode, while Suiseiseki flipped through a cookbook and Jun stitched away at Souseiseki's wristband.

"Don't go in there, da wa!" Shinku exclaimed.

"NOOOOO na no!"

Souseiseki gripped the edge of the couch cushion.

"Hey, Jun, do we have any baking chocolate, desu?"

"I dunno."

Shinku called for silence; Jun shrugged and resumed sewing, while Suiseiseki began rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets. This was actually louder than the conversation that had been going on.

* * *

"How did you know her, anyway?"

"Uh, I was a nurse that worked with her."

"Really...? So was I, but I don't remember seeing you around..."

"Different shift?"

"Yeah, most likely. Nice to meet you. I'm Shibuko Ebara."

"I'm..." Suigintou rummaged through her limited knowledge of Japanese names and picked the first thing that came to mind. "Rie Tanaka?"

"You should go up and say something."

Suigin looked at Megu in her casket, looking healthier than she ever did when she was alive.

"I can't think of anything to say."

* * *

"What now, kashira?"

"Just stand around and look pretty! Good posture! Squeeze your shoulders together! Smile!"

Kanaria tried her best.

"You're so CUTE! I think I'm going to have a heart attack!" Micchan began snapping pictures- jostling other photographers out of the way to do so, since a small crowd had gathered around Kanaria and was blinding her with the flashbulbs of their cameras.

Click, click, click. Even a more professional-looking cameraman was setting up a tripod to take her picture.

"Micchan, I can't see- kashira!"

"Keep your eyes big and wide!"

"It's hard, kashira!"

One of the guys in the crowd called out: "Say 'kashira' again!"

"K... kashira?"

"Again!"

"Kashira!"

Micchan held out her hand. "Pay up! I'm going to start charging for requests! And pictures, too! Put the cameras away!"

A well-dressed young man in a Cosmode Magazine shirt stepped forward. "How much, miss?"

* * *

"Here, Souseiseki." Jun held out the dark-blue wristband, lined with white ruffles.

Sousei put it on her wrist, admired it for a moment, then smiled appreciatively. "Thanks."

"Mine is still the best, desu!" Suiseiseki thrust out her band-adorned left arm.

"No, mine, na no!"

"It's mine, desu!"

"Na no!"

"That's not an argument, that's a meaningless interjection," Shinku pointed out.

"You do it too, desu!"

Shinku blushed. "...In moderation."

"Say it, desu!"

"No."

"Say it!"

"Stop trying."

Hinaichigo put on a devilish grin, then tackled Shinku to the floor for no apparent reason.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR da wa?!"

"She said it, na no!"

"She said it, desu!"

Souseiseki stifled laughter.

"You guys have problems." Jun rolled his eyes, but he smiled. It was a good day when the Rozen Maidens weren't fighting over their souls, but their vocal tics and their wrist fashions. Actually, with regards to the former, he did have a preference.


	8. Lüge

**Chapter 8: Lüge**

* * *

Kanaria, who hadn't asked permission before raiding the fridge, took a swig of juice as she pulled one of her pigtails out of her hair. "So exhausting..."

After a brief stop at the Kusabue residence to change into some casual clothes, she and Micchan had come breezing in to the Sakurada household. Micchan was showing off the pictures she took, while Kanaria flopped down on the couch to rest away the stress of the day. Suigintou, who had arrived a few minutes before Kanaria did, had gone upstairs to look through the bag of clothes Nori had purchased during the day. Nori herself had had a bit too much fun going shopping for the Maidens, even if Suigintou hadn't been able to come. She had offered to buy some for Kanaria and Hinaichigo, but Micchan assured her that they had MORE than enough clothes, and Tomoe refused to accept that kind of charity.

It turned out that Suiseiseki's mysterious baking project was brownies. While they came out of the oven a bit underbaked, at least they didn't contain any strange ingredients. She was sitting at the table, slowly eating one from a paper plate. Her twin sister had gone out for a walk, and Shinku was sitting across the table from her, sipping tea.

"Does Shinku-chan want any brownies?" Nori called, hovering over the brownie pan with a serving knife.

"No, thank you."

Suiseiseki looked somewhat dejected, so Jun decided to have one. It wasn't that bad.

* * *

Souseiseki was passing by Hakuo Junior High School, hands in her pockets, when she caught a piece of conversation in the air that made her stop.

"...new transfer student, she's kinda creepy..."

"Hey, do you see that girl by the gate?"

A pair of heads turned to stare at Souseiseki. Normal Japanese junior-high-school-girl heads. However, they seemed to recognize something more than the fact that she had mismatched eyes.

Pretending she hadn't noticed, Souseiseki continued walking until whoever was inside the gates couldn't see her. Then, she twirled around and turned an ear back in that direction.

"...looked just like her! They could be sisters!"

"Did you see her eyes? One of them was red."

"Do you think that's why..."

* * *

Elsewhere on the school campus, Kirakishou was waiting in a dark corner, giggling.

"Ooh... just as I suspected. She's here." The white Maiden tossed her long hair and laughed.

Her unseeing, white eye rolled lazily across the landscape.

* * *

Jun was putting the last stitches on his sewing project. He no longer had access to any Maiden-sized dolls to model his work, so he was saving up for a doll from Enju's shop. Enju himself had become a lot less psychotic and a lot more likeable since the... incident. He had become a bit of a recluse, sitting in his workroom and making dolls, but he wasn't so obsessive over his art. Jun recalled a conversation they had in which Enju had said that there was "something more real than doll-making" in his life. He figured the dude finally got a girlfriend.

Shinku, clad in a floaty, floral red dress and sheer stockings, looked up from the book she had been reading. She was draped across Jun's bed (well, it was her bed now) in a way that pretty much defined how much harder it was to sit properly for extended periods of time with such a comparatively large human body.

"Jun?"

Jun looked over at Shinku, who was staring intently back at him.

"Souseiseki's been gone a long time."

This statement coincided with the sound of the door opening downstairs. Souseiseki's baggy pants swished past the bedroom, followed by the sound of Suiseiseki's boots.

* * *

The twins sat down in Nori's unoccupied bedroom, where their bedspreads had been laid out across the floor and trampled quite thoroughly.

"What took you so long, desu?"

"I was..." Souseiseki remembered her encounter with the newest candidate for Alice. "I was... surveying."

Suiseiseki looked at her sister suspiciously. "Are you going to start the Alice Game again?"

Souseiseki shook her head. "I don't even know what it's about yet. What Father wants."

It was a good thing that Souseiseki was such a good liar, because she had just learned exactly what Father wanted. And she wasn't sure if, by keeping this little secret of hers, she was helping or hurting his goal.

"Ah..." Suiseiseki let out a sigh that was as much resignation as it was relief.

"What's going on, Suiseiseki? What happened while I was gone? Tell me about it."

"Well, I made brownies, and I was the only one who ate one."

"Really?"

"Well..." Suiseiseki recalled Jun. "Um, yes."

Souseiseki laughed.

"Even Shinku didn't have any, desu! Maybe she's on a diet. Hmph."

"No, she wouldn't be on a diet, Suiseiseki. We don't..."

There was a pause.

"We wouldn't gain or lose weight or anything. Our bodies don't change at all."

Another pause.

"We're still just dolls."

* * *

Only half of the people in the house were asleep that night. Shinku, Suigintou, and Nori were all sleeping soundly, but Suiseiseki and Jun were downstairs, snacking on the brownies that had gone untouched by everyone else.

"She was being really weird, desu..."

"Yeah?"

Suiseiseki nodded. "I'm kinda worried..."

Jun, who had absolutely no experience in dealing with these kinds of situations, just stared.

* * *

At that time, Kirakishou and Souseiseki were in the mirror room. Despite Souseiseki's instructions to get out of the house, Kira remained there.

"So what's it like, having a twin? Souseiseki?"

"What do you care? It's not the same thing."

"It's close enough." Kirakishou pouted.

"How did you become human, anyway? Well, not human, but... like this. You know."

"So hostile. It's not like you."

"I want to enjoy these last moments with my sisters. Before the Alice Game destroys everything again. I made a mistake last time."

"Tsk... well, it makes sense, you know. Even if you don't have a physical body..." Kirakishou twirled around. "Whether it never existed, or it was torn away from you, or it was destroyed... if you exist in some form, in any realm..." She reached over and patted Souseiseki on the head. "...you, too, can have this lovely form. And personally, I like it." She twirled a lock of hair around her own fingers.

Souseiseki, with nothing more to say, simply glared. "Go. You'll wake everyone up."

"Is Suigintou onee-sama around? I want to say hi to her..."

"Please, don't cause any trouble yet."

"Okay, odd one. I can wait." Kirakishou smiled and winked. "But don't go telling everyone about our little conversation. Oh, and by the way..."

Not wanting to provoke Kirakishou into saying anything more, Souseiseki refused to respond.

"Don't think I've forgotten. I noticed you've all obviously taken the tip Suigintou gave you... She must really love you all, if she's willing to let me..." She giggled. "..._consume_ her."

Before Souseiseki could respond, Kirakishou had exited via the mirror.

* * *

Suiseiseki and Jun, downstairs, had been careful thus far not to awake the sleeping Suigintou.

Jun's eyes had slight dark rings underneath from lack of sleep, but Suiseiseki's, curiously, were as fresh as ever. She had eaten as many brownies as was really possible for her, which was two. She was no Hinaichigo, that was for sure. Now, she had laid her head down across her arms and was gazing at the wall. It didn't feel right to go to bed now.

He almost reached out to prod her awake, but Jun realized then that Suiseiseki's eyes were still open, and he found himself wondering what she could be thinking about. He knew something had happened when Souseiseki had gone out, judging by the fact that some sort of heated conversation had taken place between the twins earlier that night, but he didn't ask what.

As it turned out, the two were startled by Suigintou, and not the other way around.

Suigintou rolled off the couch, waking from her sleep with a scream. All she could feel was the intense burning. The ring Kirakishou had placed on her finger, searing her skin. A long, thin rose vine extended around her hand, then her arm, and her entire body. It went climbing up the stairs, sinking into Suigintou's flesh all the while, easily drawing blood, dragging her slowly toward the N-Field. There was nothing she could do to fight it.


End file.
